I am a visiting grandmother to Oromocto due to a crisis in childcare which my daughter underwent in July.

She and her spouse had just placed their 15-month-old baby in a daycare facility, and within two weeks was fed peanut butter, resulting in a severe allergic reaction requiring hospital care.

No emergency vehicle was called despite swelling in the face and closing of eyes. The parents found out upon arrival at emergency that a repeated exposure to peanuts would potentially prove fatal, and they were prescribed epinephrine pens.

When my daughter finally got hold of the owner of the facility, she was told her baby could no longer attend there and was basically kicked out. There was no concern or follow-up, other than a week-old incident report insisted upon by an upset mother.

I left Ontario to come and help out until she could find a nut-free facility, but there are no spaces to be had.

Hopefully she can secure a private home care spot, but for now, we're all wondering if this treatment is contrary to the Human Rights Act.

In Ontario we have "Sabrina's Law" to ensure nut-free facilities which accommodate this disability.

Doris Firmin

Kitchener, Ont.

My note :
I also am not working as we can't find safe after school childcare for our son with severe allergies. Next week i will be sitting outside a summer camp program for two hours a day as the staff our not comfortable with allergies. ( I did train them on epipen and symptoms) It's ok as long as he is included but I am the only mother sitting outside..

This is a terrible situation for the family. For a private daycare facility, I'm not sure what the law is. Definitely, if they are not comfortable/capable, I would not want my allergic child to be in their care.

Note: On a personal note, I also left my job of 22 years (in a chemical laboratory) to care for my son beginning in 2005. I now work with my husband which allows for flexibility with our son. Even today, when I take my son to various programs, I am the only mother sitting outside reading my book. My son has other health issues which compound the issue. Unless I feel someone is comfortable AND capable, I will not leave him without staying nearby. My son had 2 allergic reactions when he was at daycare, but never at school. It is challenging to care for a child with food allergies (and other health issues) and I have experienced this first-hand. I know, as a parent, that I have found it challenging myself, and our son has had reactions in our care. It is important to recognize that not everyone is comfortable or capable. Finding a facility or school that has both is critical to the care of children. Depending on the circumstances, families have to make decisions that suit their situation. Caring for a child with special needs can be life altering for some families. Dealing with food allergies varies depending on the care received at daycare or school. The decisions we make vary depending on these circumstances.

We are stuck between a rock and a hard place and we need some legal clarification re: the status of kids with life threatening allergies.

Typically, if you have a child with special needs, there is support provided so that the child can experience inclusion. Licensed childcare centres should not be able to exclude kids based on being "uncomfortable". That goes against the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

For example, if, at the school where I work, a family wanted to register their severely disabled child, who was in wheelchair, because the school is their neighborhood school, even thought our school has no wheelchair accessability, our school district would have to fit the school out with whatever was needed and whatever staff was needed would, even though about 8 blocks away is a school that is wheel-chair accessible. Now, that kind of goes against my grain as a taxpayer, but advocates for kids with physical issues and developmental issues went to bat for those kids to ensure that they had access to the same sort of educational opportunities that everyone else has, and that the system supports those kids.

That's what we need for ours, too.

When I tried to register my son (9 years ago) at my neighborhood school, the principal said "no" based on his allergy. He wouldn't have been able to say it had my son had an issue that was recognised as a special need, like Down's syndrome or autism. It was a horrible experience and it shouldn't have happened.

Re: Allergies
Clearly, more education is required.
1. Severe allergies are life threatening and have been classified as a disability.
2. One of Canada's basic human rights: Those with disabilities should not be denied service because of it.
3. It sounds as if this was the child's first reaction, so I wouldn't expect the daycare to have an anaphylaxis policy for the infant but at the very least, daycares and schools should be aware of anaphylaxis.
4. If you have ever witnessed a reaction as described here (face swelling to the point of the eyes closing) you would know that something serious is happening. This child should have been transported to the hospital by ambulance and the parents notified ASAP.
5. Food allergies are on the rise, it isn't going away. There is no allergy island to put people on. You will be asked to make changes for safety just as you have to obey speed limits etc.

I have touched on this issue (special need) before here in Alberta and thought I would link these threads....
viewtopic.php?f=48&t=6461

Quote:

I wonder what all this means? Back in May of 2010 I had some correspondence with a psd70 trustee and administration person, I don't know how a lay person is supposed to figure any of this out....and when you ask questions...well, I must not ask them the right way....and then if a person doesn't ask the right question at the right time directed at the right person...well

from me to trustee
Subject: Requesting information
Date: Fri, 7 May 2010 11:00:57 -0600
Hi there! I asked previously if anaphylaxis/allergic/asmathic conditions are considered a special need. I have never really got an answer. Should these children have an IPP? I have noticed some divisions do. Quite a while ago, when I attended a meeting, I did hear it mentioned, (Mr. Gilchrist asked Ms. Campbell) but I did not hear and have noticed that it is not in the minutes.

Thank you for your attention to this very important matter.

from psd70 admin. to me
Hello , Individual Program Plans are created to address educational student needs. A medical condition such as anaphylaxis does not constitute an educational special need or require the development of an IPP. I trust that this answers the question sent to Trustee Kolodnicki. Have a nice day.

with this added note
"A pat on the back is only a few vertebrae removed from a kick in the pants, but is miles ahead in results."

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

from me to trustee
Hi!
I guess you got the response along with everyone.
I am looking at Alberta Education Services for Students and Children Policy Updated 2003.
Also, Elk Island Public Schools does it.
Do you think we could look at this more in depth?
Thanks,
Advocate for Anaphylaxis Awareness in Alberta Schools

from trustee to me
Hi ,I did forward your question to admin because I am not an expert in this area. As you are likely aware the whole area of special education is under review by the province so it would probably be best to wait and see what falls out of that because the whole process around IPPs may change significantly. I wouldn't want spend effort on something to have it finish in a dead end. Can we trust you to remind us after the reccomendations and final directives from the provincial review on special education is complete? I think it would make the most sense to pick up from there as probably every school board will have to make changes to implement them.

Thanks again.

from me to trustee
I guess my concerns are that I have been told by administration that anaphylaxis is NOT a special education issue. I would like to know where the starting point is. So, is it or not now is my question.

Thanks,

from trustee to me
If admin says it is not, then it is not. However that doesn't mean that it should not be addressed (as it is) through other division policies or procedures.

I think it's time we started to push for all Canadian children to receive the right of a safe education.

You know I'm on board....BUT....not focused on the peanut thing. I would like to focus more on the education/training end (annual for all).....no locked up epi pens (storage known to all staff) and also papertrails.

On another note, it always surprised parents that teachers (staff) working w/children are not required to have first aid tickets in Alberta. I believe that most take it for granted that they would. The city that I live in had all employees get 1st aid tickets awhile ago (there was a story in the paper here cuz a city guy saved a life in a restaurant (choking).

I was pleased to find that Dr Carr, president of CSACI had prepared a letter in response to the Letter to the Editor in the Daily Gleaner let's hope they print it. Just in case they don't, here's a copy of it.

Quote:

To Whom It May Concern:
I was greatly disturbed by Doris Firmin’s story indicating her granddaughter had been evicted from daycare in light of a diagnosis of peanut allergy. Obviously, I am not privy to the details surrounding this particular case, however we should seize this “teachable moment” in order to help prevent similar unfortunate occurrences in the future.
First, there is currently no way to predict the severity of future allergic reactions, and therefore we are forced to manage all peanut-allergic children as “at risk” for anaphylaxis, a severe and potentially life-threatening reaction.
Second, food allergies are absolutely manageable in preschool settings with simple and very practical measures, and there is no valid reason to restrict daycare access to the 5-8% of affected Canadian preschoolers. Children with food allergies, including the 1-2% of the population with peanut allergy, can and should participate fully in normal day-to-day activities, including school and daycare, with frankly minimal effort to maintain their safety.
I urge parents, teachers, and other caregivers to visit www.allergysafecommunities.ca to improve their understanding of the effective management of food allergies.
Sincerely,
Stuart Carr, MD, FRCPC, FAAAAI
President, Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

I have been ill, and I appreciate your support. The mom has left a comment on the editorial link. I am going to get my letter written today to the editor and try to let her know about us here through the letter and by personal contact.

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